[center][h3]Conversations between a Sniper and a Swordsman[/h3]
A Collab Between [@Lazo] and [@Gardevoiran][/center]

Bonesword turned towards the sniper before yelling over at him with his hands raised. [color=92278f][b]”I can talk, and that’s what I want to do,”[/b][/color] the swordsman stated calmly and collectively, his pet behind him staring at Mountain cautiously. [color=92278f][b]”I just want to talk.”[/b][/color]

“I’m so sorry, skeleton, I must’ve misunderstood.” The man whistled, his eyebrows rose in a patently insincere expression of shock. “Maybe you just want to socialize, but the last two like you came looking for a fight.” 

[color=92278f][b]”This place is a deathtrap,”[/b][/color] Bonesword bluntly said as he looked into the skies to see the Big Top in the far distance. [color=92278f][b]”I came looking for answers as to why that is, but I can’t get those without some help.”[/b][/color] Bonesword took a second to analyze Mountain’s figure before coming to a conclusion. [color=92278f][b]”I’m guessing you’re not my intended opponent, either.”[/b][/color]

“That offends me!” The clown proclaimed loudly, in a tone that suggested he was thoroughly enjoying himself. “We can’t all be bone and steel and fungus, but what part of me [i]doesn’t[/i] look like deathmatch tournament material?”

[color=92278f][b]”Well…”[/b][/color] Bonesword said as he sheathed his sword, summoning a stump from the ground to sit on as he looked at Mountain Dew. The man, for his part, merely shifted his weight to another foot, still not so much as pointing the rifle in his arms at the undead. [color=92278f][b]”I can’t see a phylactery on you.”[/b][/color] A moment passed before Bonesword had a bit of clever idea. A bit of some special herbs grew behind him, recognizable to Mountain as evident by the wry smile that crossed his features. Bonesword kept talking to the sniper. [color=92278f][b]”Plus, why fight when we can make peace? At least to crush the rest of our enemies before we duel each other.”[/b][/color]

“Heh, my dealer probably wouldn’t appreciate that.” 

[color=92278f][b]”I can make as much of this stuff as I want,”[/b][/color] Bonesword nonchalantly said.

“You make a persuasive argument, my dude, but you caught me in a bit of a bind. You see…” He glanced around him conspiratorially. “I don’t have my phylactery with me,” he confided, conveniently ignoring the fact that the skeletal warrior had pointed out this fact but moments earlier. “That drone seems to have a pretty solid bead on it, though.”

Indeed, even as Bonesword had turned to address the sniper, the drone continued to insistently point towards the nearby restaurant. Not his next opponent, but his next opponent’s phylactery, perhaps.

Bonesword looked back towards the restaurant. [color=92278f][b]”What’s going on with you and your ‘friend’ anyway? I figure you two must be in the same bind as I am since I’m not being killed right now.”[/b][/color]

“Friend? What friend?” It was at this time that the screeching grind of wrenching metal began to seep out from inside the building. The man blinked at the traitorous sound of struggle, unapologetic expression never drifting from his face. “Definitely not a friend of mine in there. More like a minion, like those yellow things you see everywhere these days, and just as annoying. She [i]does[/i] have my phylactery, though. Gave it to her for safekeeping, you know.” 

[color=92278f][b]”... sure. Let’s go with that.”[/b][/color] Bonesword felt that Mountain was lying about that last statement, but it’s probably for the best if he played along for the time being. He’d get a real answer later probably. 

“Let’s,” Dew agreed.

[color=92278f][b]”What’re you and… whoever’s in there, doing anyway?”[/b][/color]

“Adventuring,” came the immediate answer, the clown clearly eager to move the conversation his own way. “We were [i]adventuring[/i] the restaurant. Or, well, we split up just in case, so only one of us was. Thing is, we had a signal in place if things went sideways and I needed to come in for support, right? Well, something’s clearly wrong in there, but I’m not getting any signals.” The man gasped theatrically as though a great idea had just occurred to him. “Actually, you coming along is convenient as hell! What say you go in there and fetch me my phylactery?”

[color=92278f][b]”Well, I would, but I tried to get in there by busting the wall down and it didn’t work.”[/b][/color]

“Silly skeleton, that’s not what walls are for. You go into buildings through doors,” the man said chidingly, loosening his grip on the sniper’s barrel to wag a finger at Bonesword. “Maybe windows if you’re robbing the place. Either way, you’ll probably have to find a way in. You said you wanted answers, right?”

[color=92278f][b]”The door was locked… and what do you mean exactly…?”[/b][/color]

“It just so happens our friendly neighborhood announcer Nero might be in there,” he said, smile turning sly. 
[color=92278f][b]”What do you mean by Nero…?”[/b][/color] Bonesword asked before he came to a realization. [color=92278f][b]”Oren backwards. Got it.”[/b][/color] Bonesword stood there in silence for a few moments before he looked back at Dew expecting some kind of answer. [color=92278f][b]”So…?”[/b][/color]

“So, find your way in, and you get your chance at answers. Fetch me my phylactery, and we may just be able to talk about a partnership.”
[color=92278f][b]”There’s a problem with that,”[/b][/color] Bonesword said before simply looking at the building. [b][color=92278f]”The place isn’t opening up.”[/color][/b]

Dew clicked his tongue, his expression turning irritated for the first time. “You turned out to be a real nay-sayer, dude, giving up at the first closed door.” He shrugged, stepping away from the skeleton.  “Well then, if you’re fine just sitting out there on your stump waiting for something to happen, I’m just gonna head back to my alley.” 

[color=92278f][b]”You don’t have to. Stick around and smoke some herb,”[/b][/color] Bonesword said as he patted Charlie on the snout, the beast purring affectionately.

Dew hesitated, giving the skeleton an ironic look. “Tempting as it is, I can picture a dozen ways getting high right now could get me killed, and funnily enough, it’s not you who’s doing the killing in half of them.” With that said, the man vanished into the alleyway.
He had left for the time being, but if he indeed had a stake on whatever was happening within the nearby restaurant, he would no doubt be keeping an eye out. That, however, left Bonesword in the open, with a drone silently pointing towards the closed-off restaurant, and a man armed with a sniper purporting to be his next enemy hovering just out of sight.

It didn’t worry Bonesword, though. Charlie slithered between the sniper and the swordsman to act as a mediator for the situation, the skeleton being obstructed as he waited for his potential ally to escape the building. However long it would take, Bonesword didn’t mind. He was immortal, he could wait.